Hurricane Alex

During Hurricane Alex (2010), BCFS EMD was deployed to the Lower Rio Grande Valley to provide medical incident management support. Upon arrival, BCFS EMD assumed Area Command of 22 general population shelters with a 20,000 bed capacity and two medical shelters with a combined capacity of 500. BCFS EMD’s self-contained mobile command post also served as on-site platform for incident command operations.

Simultaneously, the Texas Division of Emergency Management executed its “Emergency Facilities Support Services” contract with BCFS EMD, which tasked our agency with operating a 600-bed first responder base camp, providing logistical support to the Alamo Regional Command Center, and staging equipment and personnel located at the state’s 137,000 sq. ft. warehouse in support of state response efforts.

As the Rio Grande River began to rise following the rains brought by Hurricane Alex, BCFS EMD was re-deployed to provide incident management support to the Department of Public Safety Regional District Disaster Committee in Laredo, Texas. There, BCFS EMD helped manage the state’s regional response to the flooding along the U.S.-Mexico border.